wetpixel

I saw these tiny orange spots crawling around on some sponges and coral, and couldn't figure out what they are. Any ideas? They look like some sort of crustacean, and are maybe 2mm long, each.

I'd like to add that Live Slide Show is really nice for the Mac, but is horrible on the PC. I bought it to use on my PC after using it on a Mac. I'd like to be able to generate quicktime movies (with the quicktime stills plugin) because they are small and universal, but ProShow Gold (what I use) doesn't support it. ACDSee versions prior to v6.0 have a nice slideshow feature -- it's basic, but it works, and you don't have to generate anything. v6.0 broke the ease of use, and there is now some sort of grand pause before anything happens when you launch a slideshow.

Hello, guys. I will be showing photos from the Galapagos at an exhibition in the San Diego Taiwan American Community Center from December 28 until the end of January. The opening will be held on December 28th at 2:30pm. Please come, if you can! You can show up anytime in the afternoon, until gallery close (6pm, I think?) more info

I just saw a Scubacore promo video that was put together on a single trip to Soccoro on the Solmar V, and it was really amazing. Really close encounters with mantas and dolphins, and a passing whale shark with hundreds of fish around it. I've never been, but I've heard good things about it...

There are 18 guests here at Wakatobi right now. Among the crowd, I think seven are shooting digital (dCamera count: 3 dSLRs, 4 Olympus 5050s, 1 Sony, and 1 Canon). Three are shooting film (plus a dive guide, who also shoots film), and one of them (Mark Blum) shoots 3D stuff on his custom film rig, which is really amazing.

Actually, I'm a huge nerd and have sporadic access from Wakatobi. It's incredible, actually. We're in the middle of nowhere, and all the rooms have ethernet connections. Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Thanks for the informative comparison, Steve! I'm wondering if you have tried fixing camera position and setting both lenses to have the same field of view (zooming the 16-35 in to 17mm, and shooting the 17-40 wide open?). Also, it would be great to get some comparisons at a variety of focal lengths.

Hey, guys. I'm here at Wakatobi with fellow Wetpixel members Paul (3@5) and DaveP. Unfortunately, I've come down with a fever, but if I take the day off hopefully I'll be back in action tomorrow. I shot my first pygmy two days ago! The diving here is incredible. (photo taken with 1Ds/Seacam/100mm macro/2xInon Z-220. I've cropped off a bit from the top of the image, but not from the sides). I wish these guys had been facing me. Oh well.

Paul - will you be in Bali at all before-hand? We'll be in the Pertiwi Resort, Ubud - Bali. Reservation under my name, or under Dave Patchen's name. Come find us!!

Hey, guys -- I just got a batch of 24 prints back from Pictopia for a show I'm having on the Galapagos next month, and all of them really did exceed my expectations. They were printed from the 1Ds, and are really much better than prints from the D60. I'm so used to seeing my photos on my little notebook screen. There is really nothing like seeing a large print, though.

I've posted Rodger Klein's L&M Titan D100 review and photos of Aquatica's A300 Digital Rebel housing and INON's new D-180S strobe. Check out Wetpixel's news page for more details! I leave tomorrow for Wakatobi, so please contact James Wiseman if you have any issues that need to be resolved! I will be back on the 23rd of Dec.

I think we will see an 8MP Olympus camera very soon. Other companies will certainly be releasing 8MP cameras soon. They can likely just OEM Sony's existing 8MP sensor. Whether they are any "better" is a different question. It seems to me that the crop of 5MP cameras now aren't as good per pixel as the 4MP cameras were (e.g. noise).

Hey, guys. I've done a couple of exploratory dives on Drager Dolphin semi-closed rebreathers, and plan to get certified for semi- or fully-closed rebreathers this coming January. Any advice on: Semi- vs. Fully-closed? Brands/models of each type? I will not be purchasing a unit in the near future, so I will likely be renting what I can, where I can. This probably rules out closed-circuit units. I also do not want to die, and would prefer something with a good safety record. Thanks for any help you might be able to provide!

Check this out: "Introduction. This page contains what I believe to be one of the highest resolution, most detailed stitched digital images ever created. It is the view from Bryce Point in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. It consists of 196 separate photographs taken with a 6 megapixel digital camera, and then stitched together into one seamless composite. The final image is 40,784 x 26,800 pixels in size, and contains about 1.09 billion pixels...a little more than one gigapixel. I have been unable to find any record of a higher resolution photographic (i.e. non-scientific) digital image that has been created without resizing a smaller, lower resolution image or using an interpolated image. " http://www.tawbaware.com/maxlyons/gigapixel.htm

FYI -- I'll be selling my modified Sea & Sea D60 housing after the new year (it has Ike bulkheads and remote capability). Another option.

Pictopia offers an accurate color profile for home-proofing on your color-calibrated monitor. I have never been surprised when receiving a print -- it always looks as I expected it to look. I use my home inkjet for prints I give away to friends, but I always use Pictopia if I am selling a print. You should probably figure out whether it's your image that is the problem, or if it is your color workflow with your home printer. Properly calibrated, your home setup shouldn't give you any more surprises than a third-party printer would. Many underwater photographers are using them now, and most of the Hawaii pro-contingent uses them for all of their print fulfillment. Too bad I didn't get a cut after recommending the service! (I'm joking).

SOME MESSAGES HAVE BEEN MOVED. We are monitoring this thread now, and if any of the messages in the future get too personal, I will have to lock it. It appears that there is not yet enough information about PRODUCTION Jonah housings, as the ones that have been sent out for reviews were pre-production models. When production models start shipping, I hope that those of you who purchase one will post your thoughts here. Regards, Eric

Hmmm. The ads don't seem to be targeted very well for pages other than the main forum index page. This may not work. I'll remove them after a few days if this continues!

Hi, guys. I've added google ads in the forum areas. There is a massive redesign/rewrite going on right now, with an estimated completion date of late January/Feb. After that, advertising will be built in to every page in a *gentle* way that will not get in the way of your daily usage. I'll solicit feedback on advertising situation when the redesign is done, and we'll tweak it from there. It *does* take money to keep the board going. Right now, it is a laboUr of love, with just enough coming in to maintain the costs of the site. All of us who contribute information and maintain the site are currently doing it for free. Regards, Eric

Be sure to check out the CF card database at Rob Galbraith's: http://robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007 It has card-to-computer read/write rates as well.

Yep! I'll be there. See you there, hopefully.

Thanks for the info! Let me know what you find with regard to the 16-35. I need to do some tests with the 20mm lens, as the recommended WP combination is a little soft. I am guessing switching to the superdome will make things better...

"Performs better" isn't exactly right. It's sharper in the corners when zoomed all the way out at f4, but it does vignette a bit more. According to the luminous landscapes review, the 16-35 is a full stop faster and is sharper, and "better" when zoomed in at the same f-stops. I shoot ambient light indoors a lot, so the 16-35 is definitely a "better" overall lens for me.

I'm talking about sticking my CAMERA it its face, Paul.

Thanks, Alex - When I go back next I'm going to try to get on a naturalist trip as well. The land opportunities in the Galapagos surpass what is available underwater. It's amazing to be able to walk up to an animal and stick a camera in its face.